Chapter 4.28 - HOUSING INSPECTOR

4.28.010 - Duties.#

A.

The City may employ a housing inspector in order to achieve compliance with Title 4 of this code. The housing inspector may:

1.

Conduct inspections of Rental Dwellings to the extent permitted by state law;

2.

Identify and abate violations of this code relating to Rental Dwellings;

3.

Investigate complaints of unsanitary living conditions in all Rental Dwellings located within the City, or unsafe conditions in any Dwelling located within the City;

4.

Close Dwellings to occupancy in cases of Serious safety violations as provided in Section 4.28.030.

B.

Any City employee or independent contractor who holds a building inspector certification issued by the state of Utah's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing may be assigned the housing inspector's duties.

(Ord. No. 2013-14, 10-11-2013; Ord. No. 2025-05, § 1(Exh. A), 3-12-2025)

4.28.020 - Right to inspect Rental Dwellings.#

A.

The housing inspector may demand entry into any Rental Dwelling within the City, to the extent permitted by state law, in order to accomplish a regulatory search for health, safety and sanitation violations.

1.

If entry to the Dwelling is denied by a tenant, the inspector shall not enter without obtaining a warrant to enter the premises, unless other exigencies make the entry reasonable.

2.

Inspections of occupied Dwellings shall be made during daytime hours and shall be limited to identifying violations of health, safety and fit premises codes.

3.

Inspection reports shall be created for each inspection.

4.

Within ten business days after completing the inspection, the inspector shall send or deliver a copy of the inspection report to the Owner and Manager of the Dwelling. The inspector shall establish reasonable deadlines for the Owner to remedy any identified violations, after which deadlines the Owner shall be subject to fines as established in the consolidated fee schedule.

5.

If a rental property is being kept in violation of the state or City's fit premises laws, the time allowed for repair shall be as provided in Section 57-22-6 of the Utah Code. In cases where permits must be drawn to perform the work, deadlines relate to the acquisition of permits.

6.

A Landlord who causes all Tenants to vacate the defective Dwelling unit during a corrective period is not in violation so long as the Rental Dwelling remains unoccupied.

B.

Premises found to be in violation shall be subject to re-inspection to ensure compliance, and shall be subject to inspection until compliance is obtained.

C.

Premises shall be subject to inspection upon reasonable cause to believe that violations of applicable codes exist, as described in Section 4.28.030.

D.

An Owner or Manager who refuses to provide access to the housing inspector, or who ignores requests to obtain access, shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor and is subject to additional civil penalties, including business license suspension and decertification from the good Landlord program. A tenant's refusal to allow access to a specific unit shall not be grounds to suspend, revoke or deny the Landlord's license. It is not a defense under this subsection that the Owner or Manager would have allowed a different City inspector onto the premises.

(Ord. No. 2013-14, 10-11-2013; Ord. No. 2025-05, § 1(Exh. A), 3-12-2025)

4.28.030 - Cause for inspections.#

A.

The inspector may inspect rental housing in any of the following circumstances:

1.

Upon receipt of a complaint by Tenants or owners regarding conditions or violations at the property;

2.

Upon the discovery of facts or conditions in one unit which are reasonably likely to be present in multiple units within the rental property;

3.

Upon the discovery of facts through external inspection of units which give rise to cause to believe that violations exist within the units;

4.

Upon the complaint of a third party, whether a resident of the property or not, of public nuisances originating at a unit or series of units, such as odor or noise;

5.

Pursuant to a conditional use inspection program, if one exists for the property at issue;

6.

Upon referral by another governmental agency of a potentially dangerous condition at the property;

7.

Upon receipt of any other credible facts or reports giving rise to a belief that conditions on the property are inadequate or in violation of state or local law; or

8.

Upon receipt of consent for a voluntary inspection by a tenant.

B.

Premises found to be in violation shall be subject to re-inspection as the inspector deems appropriate to ensure compliance, and shall be subject to continuing inspections until compliance is obtained. Failure to bring the units into compliance within a reasonable time as determined by the Community Development Department shall be grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of a business license and/or application or other applicable penalties and actions allowed under law.

C.

If a rental property is in violation of the state or City's fit premises laws, the time allowed for repair shall be as provided in Section 57-22-6 of the Utah Code. A Landlord who chooses to relocate a Tenant during a corrective period is not in violation so long as the Rental Dwelling remains unoccupied while the repairs are underway.

(Ord. No. 2013-14, 10-11-2013; Ord. No. 2025-05, § 1(Exh. A), 3-12-2025)

4.28.040 - Authority to evacuate, condemn or close to occupancy.#

A.

The housing inspector may close to occupancy any Rental Dwelling unit within the City which constitutes a Serious safety violation and which has not been corrected within the deadlines established by the inspector. Closure to occupancy shall be reserved for violations of safety codes and which warrant prompt action under those codes.

B.

The housing inspector may, immediately and without prior notification of violation, evacuate and close to occupancy any Dwelling which presents an imminent threat to the lives of any human occupant. A threat to life safety is imminent if the continued presence of the occupant is likely to result in the death or permanent physical injury of the occupant. Life safety dangers include such hazards as detectable concentrations of carbon monoxide or structural inadequacies likely to result in collapse.

C.

Occupancy shall not be resumed until the conditions are corrected and the housing inspector has determined that the property is in compliance with relevant codes.

(Ord. No. 2013-14, 10-11-2013; Ord. No. 2025-05, § 1(Exh. A), 3-12-2025)

4.28.050 - Appeals—Temporary stays.#

A.

Appeal may be taken by any Person aggrieved by the housing inspector's decision, and may be filed in accordance with Chapter 22 of Title 2 of this code.

B.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, an appeal of a closure to occupancy does not automatically stay the imposition of that closure.

C.

In appeals from closures to occupancy, the case shall be heard on the next available administrative law calendar, unless the parties agree to a continuance or the administrative law judge finds that a party will be unable to attend or present the party's evidence due to unforeseen circumstances. Failure to obtain counsel or prepare a case is not good cause to obtain a continuance. An appealing party who requests a continuance waives any objection to the closure to occupancy remaining in place.

D.

After filing an appeal, the appealing party may request a stay of the closure while the appeal is pending.

1.

The administrative law judge, within two business days of the City's receipt of the stay request, shall review the City's evidence, which may include photographs, excerpts of code, and reports, and consider whether there is a reasonable likelihood that the order will be upheld. No briefing or oral argument may be considered by the administrative law judge when considering a stay, but the appealing party may present, with the stay request, a statement explaining why closure should not proceed.

2.

If the administrative law judge finds that the evidence presented by the official does not support a reasonable likelihood that the closure to occupancy is justified, then it shall stay the closure pending the hearing.

3.

Within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of the administrative law judge's decision to stay the closure, a City official shall remove the closure and inform the appealing party of the judge's decision.

4.

The stay, if granted, shall be in effect until the next available administrative law hearing, at which time the court may extend the stay for good cause.

5.

Any decision regarding temporary stays may not be appealed to the district court, being provisional in nature.

(Ord. No. 2013-14, 10-11-2013; Ord. No. 2025-05, § 1(Exh. A), 3-12-2025)